Somehow my brilliant critique of Paul's opinions was removed from this blog. I am reposting a condensed version of it. Perhaps it was too long? Or perhaps CNN is pro-Paul and is secretly undermining those who oppose him?

Paul's beliefs are standard, non-pasteurized, Grade-A Libertarianism. Details can be found on his web site at http://www.ronpaul2008.com/issues/ .

The only problem in Ron Paul's world is government. The only solution in his world is the free market. Libertarian candidates have been running on this platform for as long as I have been alive.

I see four big problems with Libertarianism.

1. There is no example of Libertarianism in the history of the modern world. The belief that a modern society could reconstruct itself along Libertarian lines has never been tested. History's best example of Libertarianism in action, I guess, would be the US during the "Gilded Age" between the Civil War and WWI, when large corporations essentially ruled the country. Wages were low, benefits were non-existent, the 12 hour workday was the norm, child labor was commonplace, education was not available to many, and snake oil salesmen peddled poison in the guise of medicine.

2. As a Libertarian administration reduced governmental powers, corporate power would grow in response. Corporations have no interest in a free market. At every opportunity, they seek to control the market by bribing governmental officials, influencing elections, fixing prices, controlling supply, manipulating and manufacturing demand via omnipresent advertising, and defrauding customers whenever possible. State and local governments are much easier to buy and control – as we all know – and corporations, in the absence of federal power, will seek to buy and control them even more energetically than they do now. Corporations, unrestrained by federal government oversight, will use their unrestrained power to do one thing: give us less and charge us more. Paul would say that the free market would allow consumers to purchase from corporations they like, thus punishing corporations they don't like. For example, if you don't like Exxon, you can buy from Chevron; if you don't like T-Mobile, you can go to AT&T; and if you don't like Blackwater, you can choose Halliburton, and if you don't like Time-Warner, you can choose Disney. Talk about free choice!

3. Modern global corporations are unprecedented. The men who run them would happily process and can the homeless, selling them as Vienna sausage if they could make a nickel from it. They would advertise the product as "Health Weenies – Tastes Good and So Good for You!" Hustlers, hucksters, con-artists, and fraud-merchants populate board rooms as well as county jail cells. The corporation is king of the economy, and it has absolutely no respect for its customers, seeing them much like ranchers see their herds. Without the counterbalancing power of government to restrain them, they can make much more money dishonestly than honestly.

4. Small businesses and family farms would cease to exist. They would be eaten alive by the predatory marketing practices of giant corporations at a more rapid rate than they are now.

The net effect of Libertarianism would be to provide a short period of political confusion before the corporate state (a nation in which corporations are the only citizens) came into existence.

The Ron Paul supporters who see his views as fresh and exciting should read the history of the latter 19th century. Fortunately, they can read due to government mandated public education.

Doesn't he do relatively poorly in the phone polls because so many of his supporters are techies with no land lines? Anyway, I'm glad he's getting some attention from CNN. The media could really do more to show people the lesser known candidates. Concentrating on the more famous ones is just boring and artificially increases the gap.

Thank you, CNN, for wasting time with this fringe candidate (he thinks 9/11 was orchestrated by the government) who has absolutely no chance whatsoever of winning anything.

Go back and party with your weak-minded, college-age supporters.
Posted By James, Phoenix AZ : October 5, 2007 9:12 am**

Dr.Paul says no such thing. He merely states the EXACT same thing that the 9/11 commission concluded, being that some of the main reasons we were attacked on 9/11 is because of our occupation of the Arabian Peninsula. The 9/11 commission agrees with Dr.Paul's stance that these are some of the key factors that led to us being attacked. I mean, in all rights, Bin Laden had been screaming to the top of his lungs for 10 years or more.

Terry, you have a horrible understanding of libertarianism. The fact that you would call the Reconstruction era our most libertarian time shows your bias. Lincoln and the Civil War is often regarded as the end of the libertarian/small government age of the US.

It's unfortunate you have no faith in the free market, but your views, which are valid, are based upon the skewed circumstances resulting from government intervention. The free market doesn't limit your choice, unending regulations and taxes do. Farmer Joe may not be able to set up a mom-and-pop energy business, but he can make a new piece of software/hardware, a new phone, a new medicine, a new food product, a new way to watch TV, etc. And he can be successful if he doesn't have to worry about paying thousands of dollars upfront.

And Cable King Pittsburgh: If you have the time some day, you may want to sit down and watch the Google Interview of Ron Paul. It's a little over an hour long, and should ease your fears about Paul's supposed old-man-craziness.

It is pathetic to see the kinds of attacks people attempt on Ron Paul. They can't go after his voting record, service record, military support, family life, etc. So they make up wild allegations about 9/11, what a joke. He is right about freedom, non-interventionism and the govt. deficit.

Ron Paul is probably the candidate who best understands the U.S. Constitution and would best defend it if elected President. Many people regrettably show a total misunderstanding of Libertarianism, however, as illustrated by their examples of the "evils of capitalism" when, in fact, they are always examples of abuse of government power. (Someone who commits fraud is not a capitalist, he is a criminal.)

Of course, the biggest problem people have with freedom and liberty is that those concepts require people to act responsibly. Libertarians would eliminate the hand-outs, which is why they stand no chance of being elected. Instead, we'll continue down the collectivist path until the parasites greatly outnumber the producers and we have killed the golden goose.

It is truly amazing
that none of you see what is really going on. This blindness of our
populous is really the problem with America. You actually believe
that one of these candidates is different from another and that the
two parties stand for different principles. Don't you see that the
same people have been in power for decades and the changing of
control in congress from one party to another is mere theatrics. If
Hillary is elected, either a Clinton or a Bush will have been in the
presidency for a minimum of 20 years!Many
senators started back in the 1970's and keep getting re-elected. If
you want our country back YOU
have to stop putting the same people in power, remove the career
politicians, introduce term limits on senators and sponsor true
statesmen. Otherwise, the agenda of the status quo will continue as
it has for the past 75 years. Learn your history people and stop
repeating your mistakes...I beg this of you. Oh, and don't forget to
wear your flag pin!

Many people ... show a total misunderstanding of Libertarianism ... their examples of the "evils of capitalism" ... are always examples of abuse of government power. (Someone who commits fraud is not a capitalist, he is a criminal.) – Colony 14 author

Example: Baush and Lomb sold the same contact lens in two boxes. The label on one box described the lens as a disposable lens and it was sold cheaply (five bucks a pair, I think). The other box (containing the same lens) described a high quality long term lens and it cost ten times as much. Bausch and Lomb defended the practice saying that the same lens worked fine for long term wear or disposable wear. This is legal and is a good example of skillful marketing. Customers were nevertheless bummed out, as any of us would be.

2. A movie studio, I forget now which one, made up imaginary reviews by imaginary reviewers, putting quotations on the movie ads: "Fantastic!! Five Stars! A must see movie!" Jeffrey Singleton, Movieola News (or something like that. It's been a year or so since I read the story. There is no Jeffrey Singleton and no Movieola News. The studio replied that its customers enjoy reading that a movie was praised by reviewers. Thus, the quotation from the fabricated review was a customer service because it made customers happier.

Asarco Smelter, in my home town of El Paso, illegally incinerated toxic substances without a permit to do so, denied that they did it, and paid a large fine without admitting guilt.

I figure that for every corporation that is caught with its paw in the honeyjar, fifty get away undetected.

A corporation is legally a person, but it is not a healthy person. It is a sociopathic person, which cares only for itself and is incapable of compassion.

That said, we must admit that the corporation is a superbly designed system that society should control for its own benefit. It is like a wild dog: it will eat your kid and pee on your tires if you let it. Tame it though – with careful governmental regulation and careful education of its management – and it will herd your sheep for you and chase off burglars.

You know guys, I used to think that Pat Buchanan was the closest intellectual to my mind. But I was wrong, all of Pat's shortcomings or excesses do not exist in this Ron Paul person. HE IS who I AM!!

I would like to volunteer for his campagin... I can't contribute because I am not yet a green card holder (been living here for years on H1)...

I would really love to live in the US Ron Paul is talking about... I didn't come to this country to see it rot with corruption in front of my own eyes... empires will always rot and die... republics won't.

Now all you Paul supporters looooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeee CNN. This guy doesn't have a chance in hell. WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! I like the guy, but please, go with someone u think will actually win. Guiliani or Thompson is one two...

Terry, you sound like a pretty far left (economically at least), so I'm not sure why you're even bothering to consider Ron Paul.

The examples you site have nothing to do with libertarianism or free trade. In fact, they are an example of how the status quo fails us.

Good examples of how free markets can solve problems are Underwriters Laboratories, IEEE, and other standards bodies. The free market can sort these problems out far better than the government. While not perfect, nothing in nature is.

BTW, if Joe Smith, from the Thompson Gazette says a movie is "Fantastic", shouldn't you know better? We don't need the government to prevent us from making bad decisions. It never works anyway.